Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), India’s largest fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) player, declared a strong set of results for the quarter ended June 2025 (Q1 FY26) that shows resilience and a revival in volume-led growth even in the face of margin pressures.
Financial Performance
HUL’s group revenue in the quarter was ₹16,716 crore, a 7% YoY growth. Profit after tax was up 6% YoY at ₹2,768 crore, beating estimates. Underlying sales in the quarter were 5%, with underlying volume growth—a reflection of the actual movement of products above the tide at 4%, reflecting comprehensive revival of demand in categories and beating consensus expectations.
Quarterly EBITDA was ₹3,718 crore, with an EBITDA margin of 22.8%, declining 130 bps compared to the prior year. The decline in the margin was due to greater investment in advertising, innovations, and premiumisation efforts, and an increase in input costs. Nevertheless, net profit growth was supported by decreasing tax outgo and operating leverage.
Segment Performance and Growth Drivers
Each significant segment recorded healthy trends :
- Home Care revenues increased to ₹5,777 crore, driven by high demand for fabric and home care products.
- Beauty & Wellbeing registered strong growth, spearheaded by a spurt in hair care and health brands, with OZiva leading the list, tripling its turnover YoY.
- Personal Care and Foods & Refreshments both recorded consistent gains, fueled by innovations and expansion into premium products.
The consumer-driven initiatives of the company—new launches and rural penetration growth—were the key to good volume growth. Double-digit expansion in health, beauty, tea, and coffee categories and maintained marketing spend were mentioned by management as contributing to momentum.
Management Commentary and Outlook
The outgoing CEO Rohit Jawa added, “Buoyed by positive macro-economic trends, we stepped up our investments strategically to drive our portfolio transformation agenda effectively. Consequently, we registered competitive, all-round growth”. The June quarter also saw the switch to new Managing Director & CEO Priya Nair, and brokerages welcomed her leadership with a positive outlook for the future.
Though rural growth drove the recovery, urban consumption too has registered an improvement. Management of HUL reported that EBITDA margin would continue to be in the range of 22%–23% in subsequent quarters, and gross margins will also be better as sequential input cost pressures ease.
Market Responded Positive
After the numbers, HUL stock gained more than 8% in two days as brokerages revised upwards their view, anticipating double-digit earnings expansion in the next financial years.
In summary, HUL’s Q1 2025 results underscored competitive revenue and profit growth, a clear turnaround in volumes, and the strategic investments necessary to capture long-term opportunities in India’s evolving FMCG landscape.
